The Pheonix's Feather
by CrypticMoonFang
Summary: Everyone knows Frida is random and...well, Frida. Anyone ever wonder why? MannyxFrida R&R First El Tigre story. Name doesn't fit but I liked it.
1. Chapter 1

~Chapter 1~

Frida Suarez sighed heavily. How on Earth was she going to tell Manny? He was her best friend and secret crush. Long ago she'd assumed she would get over this crush, but whenever he was around she got butterflies in her stomach. Well, she guessed it was better that she was his friend; it was definitely better than if he didn't know she even existed.

She looked down at her small belly. A minute, nearly unnoticeable bulge was beginning to protrude from it. Maybe it was time she start exercising... She cleared her throat as she stood in front of the mirror and practiced her speech to Manny. "..." The girl only found herself wordless. She puffed out her chest, put on a brave face, and tried again. "...M-M...Manny...I...I...I..." Immediately, her lungs deflated and she could no longer find the words. Again. Even with a mirror as a practice dummy, she still found it too hard to say.

"Frida! You'll be late for school!" Chief Suarez, her father, called to her from downstairs.

Yeah...what did it matter to him whether she was late or not? It wasn't like he should care! The bulge in her belly would only grow, just like cancer does. Then he would notice. Then he would know. Frida shuddered at what might occur after he found out. It would be worse that what Manny would do, that's for sure...

_He'll hate you. He'll hate you more than any villain he's ever fought. He'll hate you and you know it._ Her mind had been split between telling him and keeping it a secret. But it might not be a secret for much longer.

She reluctantly made her way to school.

* * *

The whole day, she wanted desperately to tell him. They'd never kept anything from each other before, but now...now she had to lie to an entire school. In a nutshell, her life was slowly turning upside down.

"Frida? Frida? FRIDA!" Manny shouted, finally catching her attention.

"Yeah?"

"What's with you today? You're kind of...I dunno...off," he said.

"Sorry. I'm just going through some stuff. You know, thinking of a new prank for my sisters. Thinking of what kind of punishment I'll have in store for me after I pull the prank. Stuff like that," she replied.

"Wow. You're really into your prank war, aren't you? Come to think of it...shouldn't that have been over like a month ago?"

"Yeah, well...who knew my sisters were so good at it?"

Ah...yep. The perfect alibi for her distractedness...a prank war between her and her older twin sisters, Anita and Nikita. It was a total lie, of course, but it lead him away from the truth. Anything that worked, she'd use.

_He'll hate you... _Yes, she knew he would hate her! Her brain didn't have to remind of it! "DARN IT!" she shouted, a complete and unexpected accident that she herself hadn't anticipated. "Um...they're just so good at the war...that I'm running out of ideas...and need more...but can't think of any." She gave him her best smile, and he had no choice but to go along with whatever she told him at that point.

"Oh...uh...well, you could slap some steaks onto their backs and let your dogs chase them," he suggested. Something was wrong; Frida never just up and screamed out anything, no matter how upset or distraught she got. He knew something was up, but he trusted her to tell him when she was ready. She always had before, so what would be so different about now?

_He'll always hate you..._ Her mind, her thoughts...they were eating her alive! "Uh...Manny, what would you hate the most that would involve me?" She practically feasted on her lips, letting them circle ever closer to their bleeding point.

He gave her a wry look, and was instantly prepared to ask her why she'd ask him something like that, but the worried expression, coupled with her biting her lower lip nervously, urged him to keep his mouth shut and just answer the question. "Um, well...I don't really know off the tip of my tongue."

_As soon as you tell him-_ "You sure? Nothing at all? Or too many to tell?" _-he'll hate you for the rest of eternity._

"Uh..." God, he wanted so very badly to ask her what was wrong now. But there had been a few times before. She rarely ever acted like this, but she had gotten to the point of bleeding lips before. But every time she'd told him what was wrong and he'd helped her by giving her advice or, and this only happened once, by shooing off a weird stalker. "I guess if you turned on me, I think I'd hate that the most."

If she turned on him? As in..betrayal? No! She would never...! _You already have... You have long before you met him... _"Shut up..." she whispered so softly, not even the legendary El Tigre could hear her. He couldn't hear. He wouldn't hear. But couldn't he tell something was wrong? Why wasn't he asking her? The least he could do was show some kind of hint or clue that he knew something was up with her. And little did he know, it wasn't like all the other times...it was much worse. Or at least, to her knowledge it was. Who knows? Maybe it was normal. But then...all the other girls didn't go walking around in her condition. So was it normal? Yes. Maybe. No. Those were her options. Which would she choose? "I'd never turn on you, Manny. Anything else?" Stay calm, stay collected. Stay anything!

"Um...I don't really know." Okay, now he couldn't resist asking her. Yeah, it had happened before, but today...today there was something big. He could just sense it. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but he could sense it. "Why?"

"Would you hate me, Manny, even if I turned on you?" she asked, completely ignoring his question. She had her reasons for ignoring him, whether he knew it or not. _No matter what he says, you know the real answer..._

"I don't think I could bring myself to hate you. After all, you're my best friend, Frida."

_He...will...HATE...you..._

**A/N**

**Confused much? Well, that's because it's just the first chapter. Believe me, there will be better chapters to come, and you will begin to understand much, much more. But here's a helpful hint, just in case you guys haven't caught on yet: The italics in this story are actually Frida's conscience speaking directly to her. (via her mind) (also, there will be exceptions, such as flashbacks and such, in later chapters as far as the italics go)**


	2. Chapter 2

~Chapter 2~

"Ah, Frida! You're home just in time for family night!" the said character's father greeted her.

"Oh, sorry, Papa... I have so much homework to do, I don't think I can do family night tonight. Maybe some other time?" she suggested.

"Hm... Alright. I guess we could postpone it until tomorrow night."

"Thanks, Papa. I'll skip dinner so I can be done with my homework sooner so I can get some sleep," she told her father.

With her parting words, the blunette rushed up to her room, carrying her backpack up with her.

She had lied. The teacher was pressured into giving his class no homework. But if her parents found out they'd kill her. The reason she lied was because Manny had told her he was coming over to check on her. With him, she knew she didn't have a choice.

_When poor Manny finds out..._ the voice in her head trailed off just so it could make her think.

"Just shut up already! He won't find out!" she hissed at her brain. Stupid brain...pestering her all the time...

"But I didn't say anything." A familiar voice made her jump before she realized who it was.

El Tigre spun his belt buckle and was regular ol' Manny again.

"Manny, don't do that! give me a warning next time!" she scolded him.

"Sorry. So, who won't find out what?" he asked.

_Told you so._

"Huh? Oh, that was nothing. Just thinking up a skit for drama class."

_Not your best cover-up._

"But we don't have a drama class."

Oh... Bad call. Maybe a drama class would've been good to take. It was eating her up not being able to tell him the truth, but... Oh, heck with it! Her conscience wasn't going to let her live it down, anyway. And besides, he was going to know something was up soon.

"Manny, I have to tell you something..." she began.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to continue. But when she tried to speak, little squeaky noises came out.

_Just spit it out! Get this over with!_

She couldn't tell him. She just couldn't do this to him. It was big news, but still... And she hated having to lie to him!

"Frida, is something wrong? You've been acting weird all day," Manny said.

She couldn't tell him, she couldn't not tell him. What kind of frustrating world did she get sucked into? She was getting choked up because they shared everything with each other, especially secrets. How much longer could she keep this up?

"I'm fine." Her strangled voice told Manny differently.

"Frida, I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything," he pushed.

That nudged her over her limit. She dropped to her knees and broke down crying in front of him. He hadn't been prepared for this and jumped.

Frida grabbed her hair and started pulling on it, as if trying to give herself a different reason for crying.

Manny knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Frida, please, what's the matter? I promise not to tell anyone."

She didn't want him to know, though. At the same time, she did. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but...but maybe not.

After ten minutes of nonstop crying, she gave in to her emotional side and latched onto his shirt.

_DON'T DO IT! I TAKE IT BACK! IT'S NOT WORTH IT!_

Too late, though. She was already sobbing and whimpering. Next up was the rant she always went into when she got like this.

"I'm pregnant I'm going to give birth I don't know what to do I don't know how to be a good mother I don't know how to take care of a baby or change a diaper I'm really scared I didn't want to tell you but I'm doing it right now I have no idea what I'm in for and I'm so scared I'm tired of feeling like this I don't know how much more I can take!"

All of it came out so fast it had shocked even Frida. But unfortunately he'd understood every word of what she just said. Immediately he wished he hadn't.

All he could say in return was, "WHAT?"

She sniffled, let go of him, and looked down, not wanting to look him in the eye. She didn't even try to stop the cascade of tears rolling down her face. It was too much pressure; she just wanted it all to go away by some kind of miracle. She'd already been keeping it a secret for three months. Well...technically two; she'd found out at one month.

Manny stared at nothing in particular. He was in shock. Frida, FRIDA, was pregnant. How? Why? When? He didn't want to know where. It was like a brain overload only much worse. Too much information at one time...

Frida pulled her knees up to her chest and put her head down. It had been a long day at school, and after all this, it had just become flat-out exhausting.

_You idiot..._

Her mind started to think up images that made no sense. She wanted to go to sleep. Her breathing got more even and while Manny was still letting it sink in, Frida drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Manny was having a brain fry. He just couldn't believe it. Who was the father? Was this some kind of prank? Yeah, that was it, she was probably just pranking him. Pretty harsh for a prank, though. But it seemed like she was telling the truth, so... No! It was just too unreal! Frida couldn't be pregnant! Er...well, she'd already hit puberty... It still couldn't be true! She didn't have a boyfriend! ...Right? What if she had a secret boyfriend? No, they shared everything with each other, even family affairs! But maybe she planned on telling him later... No, no, no! It just wasn't right! It wasn't Frida! But she'd been acting so weird... It still couldn't be true!

If Frida weren't asleep she would be laughing at Manny. His eye kept twitching, making it _look_ like he was having a brain fry. And boy, was he having one...

Seriously, though, who was the father?


End file.
